Tag Archive | nesting behaviour

Quite the act

Posted by Matthew Sim
Recently down here in Texas, the local Killdeer have started nesting and their nests can be found in many open spots, such as open lots and around athletic fields. Down at my high school, there were at least 2 nests around the track, which was quite surprising considering the amount of disturbance this location gets daily. While out for a walk last weekend, I found another nest near a local pond. I chanced upon this nest when the female Killdeer incubating her eggs scurried off her nest and proceeded to preform the Killdeer’s broken wing act to try and lure me away from her nest.

Killdeer

On the alert!

When Killdeer see a potential predator approaching their nests, they try to distract the predators from the nest by dragging one of their wings on the ground as though it were broken. They scamper away, stopping from time to time to make sure the predator is still following and then, when they feel a safe distance away from their nests, they fly off, returning to their eggs to continue incubating. It really is quite the trick!

Quite the convincing act!

Quite the convincing act!

act

I let myself be led away by this act but before I left I did make a brief attempt to find the Killdeer’s eggs, which I did, snapping a photo from a good distance away so as to ensure I didn’t disturb the Killdeer again before I left.

Killdeer eggs

Wednesday Wings: Tree Geese

A blast of summer among the snowy owls and redpolls! Rob English has sent us some Canada Geese photos that are not your usual view of these birds. He says “This was new to me as I’d seen them in poplars but never  fir trees.  They were scrapping over some old magpie nest they wanted for a perch and were really causing a commotion until the one drove the other off and it went to another fir tree about 25 yards away. I took these shots in Carburn Park last May.”

Sure Signs of Spring

These busy little birds have only one thing on their minds – excavating holes to nest in! This black-capped chickadee and red-breasted nuthatch were photographed by Anne Elliott at Carburn Park in southeast Calgary earlier this month.